Krewe de 2122
Team information
Category:
Alyssa Stepp
Master
Tulane University
Tess Hubert
Bachelor
Utrecht University
Ali Abdelrahim
PHD
Tulane University
Chukwuemeka Ota
Master
Tulane University
Gabriel Musselman
Master
Tulane University
Madalyn Mouton
Master
Tulane University
Claire Kemick
PHD
Tulane University
Brian White
Master
Tulane University
Rachel Duthu
Bachelor
Tulane University
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About the team
Krewe de 2122 is a diverse team focused on taking a multi-stakeholder approach to nature-based solutions in the Mississippi River Delta. Our backgrounds encompass numerous disciplines, including ecology, civil and water resource engineering, and global sustainability. Based out of New Orleans, many of us have seen the effects of environmental degradation in the MRD firsthand, and are dedicated to developing solutions that address the complex, interwoven problems facing the region.
Our vision
Our vision of the Mississippi River Delta emphasizes changes at every level across sectors to achieve a nature-positive future. From investing in green infrastructure in future developments and expanding on existing public transportation and railway lines, to the creation of wildlife corridors, diversified local food systems, and conversion of levees into multi-use recreational spaces, our vision relies on systematic changes to achieve climate resilience and sustainability. Our vision calls for targeted subsidies and other incentives in the development, transportation, and education sectors to advance climate resilience in the Mississippi River Delta, ensuring that energy systems and public facilities are capable of withstanding anthropogenic climate change while changes in education support job creation and equip communities to maintain climate-resilient systems. These changes are additionally important as we envision the region shifting away from extractive industries such as oil and natural gas drilling and towards alternative, sustainable industries such as ecotourism and renewable energy. These large-scale changes in the Mississippi River Delta will not be possible unless cooperation and collaboration between different communities of the Mississippi River Delta are fostered, and as such our vision calls for equitable access to higher education and trade training programs to ensure all communities are knowledgeable and capable of making informed decisions that directly impact their community. Our vision generally prioritizes collective, equitable growth to ensure that all peoples in the Mississippi River Delta can benefit from a climate-resilient, sustainable future.
Our inventory & analysis
The Mississippi River Delta was formed by the long-term interaction of riverine processes, subsidence, sea-level fluctuations, and human intervention and alteration. As such, it is evident that the primary force shaping the Mississippi River Delta is hydrology, being located at the end of the Mississippi River Basin, the largest watershed in North America. With anthropogenic climate change, coastal wetland loss and relative sea-level rise are two of the largest threats to the region, especially given the heavy impoundment of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers that restrict and reduce sediment delivery to the coastline. Additionally, the loss of coastal wetland systems leads to increased flood and storm surge risk and vulnerability. Despite these threats, opportunities for nature-based solutions are present in the Mississippi River Delta and are important to implement given the major population centers in coastal Louisiana at risk due to these environmental changes. The Atchafalaya subdelta near Wax Lake demonstrates that land accretion can still occur despite impoundment and relative sea-level rise, and as such provides a basis for restoring natural deltaic dynamics in the greater Mississippi River Delta.